I'm one of those people who can count on one hand the number of times I've been out of the U.S. (even if I included taking the San Diego trolley to Tijuana). I suspect I am far from being in the minority. Still, I am fascinated by foreign countries. I decided to indulge myself last weekend with two books I just heard about. It made for a weekend of delightful and insightful reading.

The first book was The SFWA European Hall of Fame: Sixteen Contemporary Masterpieces of Science Fiction from the Continent, edited by James and Kathryn Morrow. While I stumbled across it in a reference to a panel at Readercon, which runs July 5-8, it is a very welcome addition to the world of science fiction anthologies.

The 16 stories do not depart greatly from traditional SF memes and subjects. Yet they present just a slightly different view or slant, one not so different as to be off putting but enough that you sense a somewhat fresh and unique feel. Translated from French, Russian, Italian, Finnish, Czech, Polish and Romanian, to name a few, the stories seem to have an inherent sense of place that I may well overlook in the works of the well-known American and British SF authors. As such, excellent stories were enhanced by touches both distinct and distinctive.

The other book is equally inimitable: Literature from the "Axis of Evil," an excellent compilation from Words Without Borders. Don't let the book's title or subtitle (Writing from Iran, Iraq, North Korea, and Other Enemy Nations) mislead you. This is not prose and poetry fomenting, expressing or based upon contempt or hatred for America. This is, insofar as any particular country is concerned, straightforward writing by its citizens, some in exile. Not only is there the so-called "Axis of Evil" itself, there are also works from Cuba, Syria, Libya and the Sudan.

Likely, not all of it will be your cup of tea. But perhaps that is to be expected when we're talking about countries that we frequently do not have but often have lacked the opportunity to learn about the cultural background. Besides, would it truly be foreign literature if some of it did not feel "foreign"? Suffice it to say that, at least to me, the works from the Middle Eastern countries seemed to share a somewhat common, although not universal, feel that stems largely from Arabic traditions, heritages and beliefs.